1. Field
The present invention relates to electronic circuits and, more particularly, to electronic circuits for driving serial data signals on a communication link.
2. Background
The use of high-speed serial communication links in electronic systems has continued to grow. High-speed serial communication links can operate according to various standards such as Universal Serial Bus (USB), High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), and Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) interfaces. A serializer/deserializer (SERDES) is used to transmit and receive from a serial communication link.
The output driver for a serial communication link typically produces a pair of differential signals that switch at high speed (e.g., 3 GHz). The output drivers may be voltage-mode drivers or current-mode drivers. Voltage-mode drivers may operate at lower power than current-mode drivers. However, providing skew correction, amplitude adjustment, pre-emphasis, and other adjustments of the output signals may be difficult in a voltage-mode driver. Additionally, achieving a large output voltage swing may be increasingly difficult as the supply voltages are reduced in advanced process technology nodes.